Program of Study

The program of study (POS) requirement is the same for both the Science & Engineering and Math/CS tracks of the fellowship and ensures fellows have sufficient academic breadth to succeed as computational scientists. Many alumni say the POS provided a vital, broad foundation for their research.

Composition

The POS must provide a solid background in (1) a scientific or engineering discipline, (2) mathematics and statistics, and (3) computer science and computer engineering. Fellows' major fields must fall into one of these categories but they also must attain high marks in the other two to demonstrate that their POS has sufficient breadth. A course that introduces the concept of high-performance computing is also required and may be taken from any department with a preference given to those in computer science.

Two courses (semester system) or three courses (quarter system) are required for each POS discipline area, with the exception of just one course required within the high-performance computing section.

Timing & Completion

Students and their advisors explicitly commit to completing the POS before the start of the fellowship’s third or fourth year depending on the fellow’s status upon admission to the program.

• Students who begin their fellowship in their second year of graduate studies must complete their POS before the start of the third year of their fellowship.
• Fellows who begin their doctoral studies coincident with this fellowship award must complete their POS prior to the fourth year of their fellowship and must complete at least one course in each disciplinary area within the fellowship’s first two years.

Note: Fellows can request changes to their POS following admission into the program. These requests must be submitted to Krell in advance of the change, and must be reviewed and approved by the DOE CSGF executive committee.

Sample Program of Study - Semester System